Indian Power Scenario 2013

Electric energy occupies the top grade in energy hierarchy. It finds innumerable uses in home, industry, agriculture and even in transport. The fact that electricity can be transported practically instantaneously, almost pollution-free, at the consumer level and that its use can be controlled very easily, makes it very attractive as compared to other form of energy.

The per capita consumption of electricity in any country is; index of the standard of living of the people in that country. As per the latest figures, the annual per capita consumption of electrical energy in some of the countries is: USA—11,920 kWh, Canada— 16,020 kWh Japan—6,750 kWh, UK- 5,467 kWh, Russia-6,017 kWh and India – 498 kWh in 2012.

The electric energy demand in India during the past 20 years was higher than the gross generation as a result 
of which there were massive power-cuts. Monsoons are another reason for the increase in these power cuts. The load-shedding has been in force for the last several months as the water level in reservoirs depleted drastically due to deficient rainfall last year. There are several issues that characterize India's energy scenario today. These can be briefly listed as follows:

The present installed capacity in our country is about 225.133 GW as on May 2013 and the largest share in power generation is contributed by thermal power plants, which account for about 78.7 percent of the total power generated in country. Hydel power contributes about 18.5 percent while nuclear power accounts for only 2.7 percent. The rest being accounted for by diesel, wind, solar and gas plants.

In December 2011, over 300 million Indian citizens had no access to electricity. Over one third of India's rural population lacked electricity, as did 6% of the urban population. Of those who did have access to electricity in India, the supply was intermittent and unreliable. In 2010, blackouts and power shedding interrupted irrigation and manufacturing across the country.

The problem of rising power cuts can be resolved by adopting the following technologies which have been invented for the same purpose:

One type of technology includes inducting micro-turbines using natural gas that could enable individual households and shops to generate their own power cheaply, keeping grid as a backup.

Another such technology would be the construction of a Km long tower with saline or brackish water being poured from top so that as it hurtles down, the water reaches velocity of 70 km/h, good enough to drive turbines and generate electricity. Apart of this electricity would be used to pump water up and the remaining be utilized for consumption. Another device that could be used is a UPS (also called an inverter); a power storage device is a silent solution to power cut problems. 

Benefits of Diesel Generators.

People have been using generators for ages as they serve as the perfect backup solution in case of power failure. These generators are used for a wide range of applications including telecom sites, hospitals, residential complexes, offices etc.

Generators may run on petrol, diesel, gas (CNG, LPG) or bio-diesel, but diesel generators are still the most preferred choice for off grid power solution in almost all commercial as well as domestic applications today.

To arrest the noise of diesel engines a sound attenuated enclosure, also known as Canopy, is used. Generator with Canopy is also known as silent generator.

Diesel Generators benefit greatly primarily from the source of its fuel i.e. Diesel

·         Diesel is the most abundantly found fuel among all other fuels. Therefore it is the more suited option for factories located in remote areas.

·         Diesel contains more energy than petrol, that is why diesel engines are more fuel efficient than petrol engines. It consumes less fuel and delivers superior performance.

·    Diesel is relatively less expensive as compared to other liquid fuels available in the market and hence is commercially more viable for industries.

·         Diesel fuel is safer than petrol or gas as it is less flammable.

Apart from these diesel generators have several other advantages:

·         Diesel generators can operate perfectly in extreme cold climates with the use of Glow Plugs.

·         Diesel engines are simple in design and built ruggedly. Due to their robust built, diesel engines are extremely stable and can withstand heavy load.  They can be resold at a high market price even after 5 years.

·         Diesel Generators can remain operational for long periods of time and have very low probability of breakdown. To ensure a long-lasting function, the generator should be installed in a proper manner and basic maintenance plan should be adhered to. Diesel engines generally run 10000 hours before it needs any service beyond basic maintenance.

·         Basic maintenance of a diesel engine is less expensive and simple, like changing Oil, Fuel, Air filters and periodic change of Oil and Coolant. On the other hand with Petrol or Gas engine one has to deal with tune ups, carburettor adjustments, distributor burns, spark plugs which requires periodic cleaning and replacement.

·         The glow plugs used in diesel engines have better running life than spark plugs.

·         A diesel engine consumes less lubricating oil compared to other engines, thus saves money.

For any further questions, please visit our YouTube page to explain proper installation and commission of the diesel generator. www.youtube.com/mahindrapowerol

This post is brought to you by Mahindra Powerol, leading manufacturers of diesel generators, industrial engines and home ups inverters and batteries. www.mahindrapowerol.com/ www.mahindrapowerolhups.com

LIGHT GRAFFITI

Light graffiti also called light writing, light painting, and light art is simply long exposure photography using lights to create objects and add effects into the photo that are not actually there in real life. It is a photographic technique in which exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera.

By moving the light source, the light can be used to selectively illuminate parts of the subject or to "paint" a picture by shining it directly into the camera lens. Light painting requires a slow shutter speed, usually a second or more. Light painting can be done interactively using a webcam. The painted image can already be seen while drawing by using a monitor or projector. Another technique used in the creation of light art is the projection of images on to irregular surfaces (faces, bodies, buildings etc.), in effect "painting" them with light. A photograph or other fixed portrayal of the resulting image is then made.

A variety of light sources can be used, ranging from simple flashlights to dedicated devices which use a fiber optic light pen. Other sources of light including candles, matches, fireworks, lighter flints and glow sticks are also popular. A tripod is usually necessary due to the long exposure times involved. Alternatively, the camera may be placed on or braced against a table or other solid support. A shutter release cable or self timer is generally employed in order to minimize camera shake. Color Gels can also be used to color the light sources.

                                    

Aurora

The word ‘Aurora’ comes from the Latin word which means ‘sunrise’. An aurora is a natural light display in the sky found particularly in the Artic and Antartic regions. This phenomenon occurs due to the collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres; also known as the ‘Aurora borealis’ and ‘Aurora australis’ respectively.

                                              

Aurorae are classified as diffuse and discrete. The diffuse aurora is a featureless glow in the sky that may not be visible to the naked eye, even on a dark night. It defines the extent of the auroral zone. The discrete aurora are sharply defined features within the diffuse aurora that vary in brightness from just barely visible to the naked eye, to bright enough to read a newspaper at night.

               

The Northern lights are a result of collisions between gaseous particles in the earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere. The connections between the Northern Lights and sunspot activity have been known since 1880. Since the temperature above the surface of the sun is millions of degrees Celsius, collisions between gas molecules are frequent and explosive. Free electrons and protons are thrown from the sun’s atmosphere by the rotation of the sun and escape through holes in the magnetic field.

Variations in color are seen due to the type of gas particles colliding and on how much energy is being exchanged. Oxygen emits either a greenish-yellow light or a red light. Auroral displays appear in many colors like shades of red, yellow, blue and violet. Pale green and pink are the most common ones. These lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.

              

Aurora’s usually occur in ring-shaped areas centered around the magnetic poles of the Earth. The complete rings, called the auroral ovals, can only be seen from space. The best places to see the Aurora are in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, during the late evening hours.

The shape of the aurora depends on where in the magnetosphere the electrons came from and what caused them to precipitate into the atmosphere. Dramatically, different auroral shapes can be seen in a single night.

MIRAGES

Mirage

We generally hear interesting stories about weary travelers trudging across a seemingly never-ending expanse of desert to what they think is a lush oasis or people traveling on a hot afternoon notice a puddle of water which melts into thin air when approached. This optical phenomenon is known as mirage. The term mirage originates via the French word ‘mirage’ which originates from the Latin mirari, which means ‘to look at, to wonder at’.

Fata Morgana

A mirage is generated by two layers of air at different temperatures. Since cold air is denser than hot air, the boundary between the layers can refract (bend) light, especially if the light hits the boundary at an extreme angle. This effect can be commonly seen on asphalt roads during the summer. The black color of the road gets the air above it hot very quickly, creating a sharp temperature gradient in the air – the first ingredient of a good mirage. This is often referred to as a highway mirage.

Inferior Mirage

Mirages can be categorized as “inferior” (meaning lower), “superior” (meaning higher) and “Fata Morgana”, one kind of superior mirage which appears above the water. The phrase comes from the Italian version of the name of the sorceress Morgan Le Fay.   An inferior mirage is called ‘inferior’ because the mirage is located under the real object. Inferior images are not stable. Hot air rises, and cooler air being denser descends, so when the layers mix, it gives rise to turbulence. A superior mirage occurs when the air above the line of sight is colder than the air above it. Superior mirages are in general less common than inferior mirages, but when they do occur, they tend to be more stable. These mirages are quite common in Polar Regions, especially over large sheets of ice with a uniform low temperature.

Superior Mirage

Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas have created a working cloaking device which has the ability to make objects disappear. The novel design makes use of sheets of carbon nanotubes (CNT) which has unique properties to conduct heat and transfer it to surrounding areas that makes it an ideal material to exploit the so-called “mirage-effect”. Just like a mirage, this steep temperature gradient causes the light rays to bend away from the object concealed behind the device, making it appear invisible. The research results also provide useful insights into the optimization of nanotube sheets as thermo-acoustic projectors for loud speaker and sonar applications, where sound is produced by heating using an alternating electrical current.

The optical phenomenon of a mirage of an astronomical object is most commonly observed for objects like the Sun, Moon, the planets, the bright stars and very bright comets in which light rays are bent to produce distorted or multiple images. The most commonly observed are sunrise and sunset mirages.

Desert Mirage

For those who have never spotted a mirage, there is no need to trek to the desert to see a mirage: they are very common on roads. The most spectacular mirages occur in wide expanses of flat land as too many hills, dips or bumps will prevent the refracted light from reaching your eyes.